Auction Observer 125: Wicker furniture from the future exists?
Seats from New York, deeply rare Armani, a better than Braun clock, and demonic/angelic chairs
Essay free letter, essay later this week—many auctions and items for sale and the goal now is to get, what with all the bonus extras beyond the paywall, ahead of the “this is too long for an email” warning I often get. Andalay. But first,
One Question:
Retail corner
I like this simple white/gold teapot, I like these wildly loud flowery placemats, I don’t like this cabbage earthenware (way too campy), but I respect the commitment; I like these Vendôme old fashioned glasses—they weigh almost a pound! These highball glasses… are puke green and not bad.
Obs 125
Truly learn something new every day Div., Exs. 1 & 2:
Joe Colombo Basket chair, Queens, ends Wed.—fascinating, fascinating item here, from the master of futuristic/strong/fun/theoretical Italian furniture, but this semi early work (mid 1960s) is effectively an Eastern/mid modern piece that’s quite out of character with his later work. So many of the designers in the 1960s and 1970s in Milan, where Colombo worked, preferred and became successful working with modern or futuristic materials: plastic, chrome… maybe metal, maybe glass. And here is this rattan item—very rare. The piece now is still in production—available through Gubi, which also produces the F300 by Pierre Paulin; go figure Paulin looks more futuristic. Part of a strong and unwieldy auction, of which the best items are detailed below.
Takahama Antella table, same auction—Kazuhide Takahama for Simon Ultramobile, the Antella, an all-lacquer diner from 1975… chalk this up to the never seen this before files. Takahama is among the most underrated designers out there, if successful people who have been well remunerated throughout their careers can be underrated; his Marcel chair is a triumph (and should be in more photo shoots and the like), and his Acca magazine rack/coffee table for Gavina is… not really like anything, and one of those rare glass/modern pieces by a futuristic designer that’s strong and a bit strange. Very strong auction of the uncurated kind: two counterintuitive items from massive designers side by side. Many more things like this below.
Big font—below—readers—will—find—100 selected design pieces, running the gamut: seating, lighting, storage, full sets, jewelry, even lux travel timepieces (Braun AB 313 but better), earliest item from 1930 and most recent from 1995 maybe, every single one of which is worth knowing about and entering your design lexicon.
Specifically? Miro-like artwork, a flotilla of cascade seating in Europe, a plastic/pop designer's succesful foray into luxe velvet, the best Danish wooden side chair I've seen since like March, club chairs, seating, an Armani piece I’ve never seen evidence of, lighting and deranged office furniture mostly in New York City, and the only leather home accessory produced from a 200-year old luxury brand.
